Three Brunswick students charged with burning Middletown High's football field

Damage estimated at $20,000

The Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office has arrested three Brunswick High School students and charged them with intentionally burning the artificial turf at Middletown High's football field, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage.

The 17-year-old students were arrested Wednesday morning, three days after staff at Middletown reported that a large section of the school's one-year-old football field had been set on fire.

Students told investigators they were upset and wanted to damage the school, said Joseph Zurolo, Deputy State Fire Marshal. He would not name the students because they are being charged as juveniles.

The students, however, never said what upset them, and officials are unsure if a rivalry between the two schools may have been the motive.

The three have been charged with first-degree malicious burning, a felony, and malicious destruction of property, a charge that could also be a felony depending on the damage, Zurolo said.

"The most important thing is that mom and dad will have to take care of the damages," Zurolo said.

The families of the three students may have to shoulder any repair expenses not covered by insurance, he said.

The students have been released to their families, Zurolo said. Their case will go to court, but before that the Department of Juvenile Services will have to make a recommendation on whether the students need treatment or guidance, Zurolo said.

The arrests were the product of a joint investigation by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, the Frederick County Fire Marshal, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Investigators from the three agencies interviewed students and followed tips from school staff as they worked to find the arsonists, Zurolo said.

"It was good, old-fashioned police work," he said.

Officials at Brunswick High refused to comment, and Marita Loose, the school system's spokeswoman, said she could not say how Brunswick officials would discipline the students.

She would only say that under the Frederick County Public Schools policy, students who willfully damage school property are subject to disciplinary consequences, ranging from probation to expulsion, along with a restitution required by law.

Loose could not say if any of the students who were arrested were athletes or had a grudge against athletes at Middletown High.

Middletown and Brunswick High schools often play against one another in football, basketball and baseball, so Loose would not rule out rivalry. "That's always a possibility, but that would be a guess on my part," Loose said.

In the course of the investigation, officials discovered that the burning took place on Saturday morning, not on Monday as investigators originally believed.

Staff at the school discovered the damage on Monday morning. According to the first reports on the incident, someone had doused the field in an unidentified flammable liquid then set it on fire.

The fire charred an area of 15 feet by 16 feet, right below the 50-yard line, just below the school's signature letter "M."

Investigators are unsure what kind of liquid the students used, Zurolo said on Wednesday.

The incident was a shock for staff, parents and booster groups at Middletown High School, who in 2008 started a $3.6 million fundraising campaign to renovate their old stadium and put in a new football field and update sports facilities.

The school renovated the football field and installed the new artificial turf in August 2008. School officials at the time told The Gazette that the field's installation and related expenses cost $950,000.

After the incident this week, school officials estimated that the fire caused $50,000 to $70,000 in damages, but they have since lowered that estimate to $20,000.

Michael Watson, assistant principal at Middletown High, said the school has insurance for the field through the Frederick County Board of Education. School officials, he said, are still unsure if the insurance will cover the damage.

Watson said Middletown High School uses the field for soccer, lacrosse and band practice in addition to football. He said officials at the school hope to be able to replace the damaged sections of the field before the start of the new school year.